Summary: Living consistent with God’s will

· This morning we looked at Paul’s command that Christians live their lives as an imitation of who God is.

1) He told us that God’s footsteps are characterized by a spirit of sacrificial love.

2) Paul also warned us against IDOLATRY which shows itself in such things as IMMORALITY, IMPURITY, GREED, FILTHINESS, SILLY TALK, or COARSE JESTING.

· Tonight we are going to look at FIVE practical features we should recognize in order to faithfully walk in God’s light.

1) We live in a day where many people say they are ‘enlightened’ because of their progressive attitudes towards moral issues.’ The Prophet Isaiah wrote a long time ago, ‘Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness’.(5:20)

Story has been told of a lion who was very proud and decided to take a walk one day to demonstrate his mastery over all the other creatures.

He strutted his way through the forest until he came across a bear, ‘WHO IS THE KING OF THE JUNGLE BEAR? ‘Why of course you are mighty lion’.

He went on until he found the tiger, ‘WHO IS THE KING OF THE JUNGLE TIGER?’ ‘Why you are great lion’.

Next the lion found the elephant, ‘WHO IS THE KING OF THE JUNGLE FAT ELEPHANT?’

The elephant immediately grabbed the lion with his trunk and spun him around a few times and slammed him to the ground.

He then stepped on him a few times and picked him up and dunked him in the water and then threw him up against a tree.

The lion staggered to his feet and said, ‘LOOK, JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER IS NO REASON TO GET SO UPSET!’

The lion was the one who wasn’t getting it. He was missing the truth like many today.

THE CONTRAST OF WALKING IN THE LIGHT: (8) For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.

· There is a contrast to who were once were and who we are now. It is not a contrast of where but who.

1) Did not formerly walk in darkness but were darkness. Not that you are in the light but you are the LIGHT. Those are powerful words.

In John 8:12 Jesus makes a startling statement, ‘I am the light of the World. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life’.

This statement was made during a special Jewish Feast, the FEAST OF TABERNACLES.

In the Temple treasury stood four massive golden candelabras topped with huge torches. There were said to be as high as the highest walls of the temple.

There was a ladder for each and young priest climbed up to fill four great bowls that held over 20 gallons of oil in each one.

IT is said that when the wicks were lit at night the huge flames illuminated all of Jerusalem.

It was a night of feasting and dancing around these great torches

It was in the same place the next morning with smells and memories of the night before that Jesus proclaims, ‘I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD’

· How can Jesus be the Light of the World and we also be light?

Paul says that we are LIGHT IN THE LORD.

Barnhouse put it this way, ‘When Christ was in the world, He was like the shining sun. When the sun sets, the moon comes up. The moon is a picture of believers, the Church. The church shines but not with it’s own light. It shines with reflected light…Our light does not orginate with us’.

1) Our job, like the moon, is to reflect light. IF we do not then things really can be dark. What is the only reason the moon does not reflect the light of the Sun? Only in an eclipse, when the world gets in the way. We stop reflecting light when the world blocks our way.

THE CONTRAST OF WALKING IN THE LIGHT

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF WALKING IN THE LIGHT (9) for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth.

· The light has fruit with it. That which naturally develops out of it’s existence. Three are mentioned by Paul and three which are quite opposite of the six things mentioned earlier.

1) GOODNESS: This refers to ‘moral excellence’.

It is the same word Paul uses to describe a ‘fruit of the Spirit’ in

Galations 5:22. It is best described as ‘love in action’.

2) RIGHTEOUSNESS: This is the idea of living in integrity before God and man. Paul told Timothy to ‘Pursue righteousness’(6:11) and John said in 1 John that whoever ‘practices righteousness is born of Him’ (2:29)